Call for Solidarity against the squat ban in Netherlands

Last Thursday the Dutch parliament has passed a new law making squatting a felony. Only the senate still has to vote on it’s passing now. However, with a rightwing majority, odds are effectively january 1st all squats in the Netherlands will be up for eviction. This will mark the end of an era, a carte blanche for the destruction of our social centers and infrastructure. Not to mention the criminalisation of thousands of people suffering from the housing shortage, for whom squatting has always been a legal means of acquiring a roof over their heads. An occupation of parliament square during the voting ended with riot cops charging into the tent camp and arresting about one hundred people.

Photo’s can be seen on http://www.indymedia.nl/nl/2009/10/62251.shtml (during the day) and http://www.indymedia.nl/nl/2009/10/62308.shtml (the eviction).

Saturday, october 24th a demonstration is planned in Utrecht, followed by decentralised action days from october 30th till november 1st.
We call upon your solidarity, be it at the demonstration or at the many Dutch embassies and consulates. Show them we are everywhere, be creative, show your dissent!

for sleeping places during the demonstration and action days, mail kraakverbod@puscii.nl

Demonstration at the Serbian Embassy in Budapest

In the evening of 29 September the coalition of anarchist movements of Budapest represented by comrades from Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia and Ukraine, as well as LGBT (lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender) activists from various countries - Hungary, USA, Serbia, Austria, Russia etc. made a short demonstration in front of the Serbian embassy in Budapest. The major aim was to protest against state repression and governmental policies in Serbia.

The reasons - case studies - were:

a) imprisonment of 6 anarcho-syndicalists in Belgrade:
5, as it turned out later, 6 activists were accused without any evidence in a solidarity action (related to December events in Greece and murder of 15 y.o. anarchist) that took place on 25 August at the Greek embassy in Belgrade. They may get 3-15 years of prison: http://asi.zsp.net.pl/;

b) cancellation of Pride Parade in Belgrade one day before its date:
it was proclaimed that any demonstration is prohibited in Serbia from the date when the Pride Parade should have taken place, although the neo-nazi demo still happened that day.

The demo was supposed to be a short one, as it was not registered.

First, two big transparencies were put on the fence of the embassy

then the info-board of the embassy was covered by flyers (http://anarhobud.blogspot.com/2009/09/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html);

after some messages for the support of LGBT activists in Belgrade were put on stone parts of the fence;

a letter to the ambassador of Serbia in Hungary was put in the mail box together with some flyers. The letter aimed at attracting attention to the cancellation of Belgrade Pride Parade and asking for involvement of the Serbian authorities in LGBT issues and protection of LGBT rights;

finally, the rest of flyers were distributed among the participants (ca. 30) of the demonstration and thrown on the territory of the embassy and around.

This was a peaceful action aiming at attracting authorities' attention to current policies of the Serbian state and calling them to take action and protect rights of the groups that are victims of state repression - anarcho-syndicalists and LGBT activists.

Additional information: http://www.anarhobud.blogspot.com/

source balkans.puscii.nl

Gay Pride Budapest 2009

This year’s Pride Parade in Budapest was calm and rather boring, as fewer people showed up compared to the previous year. Indeed, Pride Parade 2008 was rather violent with neo-nazis and average observers, apparently homophobes, throwing eggs, tomatoes and bottles into the participants of Pride Parade 2008.

>> By the way, this violence is caused by the government headed by ex-prime minister Gyrcsany as before 2007 and 2008 the Pride Parade was peaceful and boring for the media. <<

The only positive thing about 2008 Pride was high attention of the media and increased security (Not all cops are bastards after all) this year. Not only Andrassy avenue, where the Parade took place this year, but also parallel streets were closed and surrounded by fences. Basically, a big part of central Budapest including metro was closed.

>> The right to free assembly is a basic constitutional right. But in gulyas democracy of Hungary this right has to be protected by hundreds of policemen and rows of fences. <<

Crowds of people were to be observed outside the fences, apparently not as many as previous year. Moreover, this day was a football match between Hungary and Sweden and most probably most hooligans were already at the stadium by the end of the Parade. The Parade participants turned out to be hard nuts for those willing to attack them, as police was escorting them even after the end of the Parade at Deak sq. and Blaha Lujza sq., as all the participants were recommended to go to Blaha Lujza by metro.
This decision was based on previous year’s accident when at the end of Pride Parade it turned out that the participants were trapped because most of neo-nazis gathered at the end point of the Pride 2008, Heroes’ sq.

To the Pride 2009 itself: there were a number of groups and individual people from both Hungary and abroad. The opening speeches were delivered by Juris Lavrikovs, Paata Sabelashvili (ILGA Europe) who welcomed the participants and shared tehir thoughts of the importance of the Pride. There were two cars with sound systems, a froup of people carrying a rainbow flag, and a number of smaller groups including Amnesty-Hungary (the yellow group) and the pink-black bloc.

Overall, it was just another good opportunity for queer people to claim for their right for equality and for their supporters to express their solidarity. Hopefully, the peacefulness of Pride Parade 2009 will become a good tradition and the tolerance in Hungarian society to queer people will grow to the level that no fences will be needed in the future.

Long Live Pride Parade in Budapest!

>> More pictures from the Pride Parade 2009 are to be found here <<

Fuck Parade 2009 Berlin 22nd of August

Demonstration: Fuckparade August 22nd / 2 pm / Berlin (Germany)

The Fuckparade – a demonstration for subcultural claims and rights – will
be on the street again on August 22 this year. From a subcultural
perspective, 2009 was dominated so far by an increasing awareness of how
easily everybody’s lifestyle can be negatively affected by a growing
appetite of state institutions to control every aspect of life.Total
surveillance, non-acceptance of alternative lifestyles via tightened
budgets and higher living expenses, old fashioned 20th century regulations
ignoring every change of modern communication and artistic expression
(such as the GEMA) are just a few examples why subcultural people will once
more join on the streets of Berlin to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the
Fuckparade.

Demo:
Saturday, August 22, 2 pm
Revaler Straße
Berlin

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Repression against Free Parade in Paris

Morze Infoshop Budapest New Poster

"NO" to oil pipe-line "Bourgas-Alexandroupolis"

98.97 % out of the 14 900 people who voted in the Pomorie municipality
voted "NO" on the referendum about the oil pipe-line
"Bourgas-Alexandroupolis".

This became clear once 100% of the votes had been counted. The ones that
voted "Yes" are 1,03%, and the turnout is 50,12%, this had been stated by
the chair of the election commission - Luba Stravolevoma, as quoted in
Focus information agency. Such a turnout means that the locals had managed
to pass the 51% and that the referendum is legitimate. The Pomorian
referendum is the first legitimate referendum out of the three that had
place. In Bourgas 50 000 said 'no' to the project, 5000 from Sozopol, who
also expressed their negative attitude towards the project. But in both
cases the turnout did not go over the 51% barrier that would have made
them legitimate.

The question was "Do you agree on the construction of the oil pipeline
'Bourgas-Alexandroupolis', having its track and installations on the
territory of the Pomorie municipality?" The results will be send to the
local authorities as well as to the company that will be implementing the
project.

Earlier, the mass participation of the citizens of the Pomorie
municipality, had made the city mayor - Petar Zlatanov, happy. "I am
grateful to the citizens, that they went to give their vote. In this way
they help our administration, the help the government and the people, that
are engaged in the project. The referendum showed that citizens are
gaining confidence, that their opinion will be taken into account. I am
completely confident in this, because I see the useful contact between the
government, the municipal authorities and and companies that will
implement the project.

The election day started at 6.00 in 47 sections, reported the chair of the
municipal election commission. The activity of the citizens at about 9.00
am was 9.5% already, that is more in respect to the last local elections,
when at that point the turnout was at about 6%. At about 12.00 27% had
voted and it was expected that the turnout will be high and that it will
go over 50%.

In the Pomorie municipality there a bit more than 23 000 people have
voting rights.